Hampton Inn burns down, declines to reimburse guests

[Newsjock]

Source: Los Angeles Times
By David Lazarus

Bill Dailey recently encountered such hard-nosed corporate thoughtlessness after staying with his grandson at a Hampton Inn hotel, franchised by Hilton Worldwide. The pair lost all their possessions in a fire.

The claims administrator for the hotel's insurer, Century National Insurance, informed Dailey that because the fire was caused by a lightning strike, "there was no legal negligence on behalf of the Hampton Inn."

For that reason, it said, the insurer had decided to "respectfully decline" Dailey's and his grandson's roughly $5,000 in claims for lost clothing, electronic devices, luggage, personal effects and money.

... A spokeswoman for Hampton Hotels said she, too, was chagrined by what happened. But she said the company was powerless to intervene.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20141014-column.html

[blue neen]

1. Oh my, that's awful.

It's hard to believe that the "company was powerless to intervene."

[davidn3600]

6. Have you ever read those registration cards that you sign?

It usually says things like that the hotel isn't responsible for lost or damaged personal items.

Most hotels offer a safe or a safe deposit box for you to put valuables. When used, anything in there will usually be covered by insurance if it doesn't survive a fire.

[1StrongBlackMan]

2. And I wonder how much this "powerlessness to intervene" ...

will cost that franchise in lost goodwill and negative publicity?

[KittyWampus]

3. That is hardcore right there. Darn.

[Go Vols]

4. Did they have lightning rods?

I have lived in a couple of houses that had them.

Its on the motel either way.

[WillowTree]

5. Their own homeowners insurance ought to cover their losses.

[SheilaT]

7. I certainly hope so.

Homeowners insurance can be quite nice.

Some years back my mother tripped in my garage and broke a bone in her foot. She filed a claim against my homeowners insurance for whatever medical costs were going to be out of pocket. And she was reimbursed, as she should have been.

The step into the garage was a bit tricky, and people often stumbled. Mom was 75 at the time, and at that age had bones that would break more easily.

[pnwmom]

8. My mother's house got hit by lightning and her insurer covered it. That's why they call

it "hazard insurance." It's supposed to cover hazards.

[Recursion]

9. Huh. I wouldn't think to go after the hotel. That's what renter's insurance is for

You do have renter's/homeowner's insurance, right...?

[Live and Learn]

11. What a ridiculous statement. Not everyone owns or rents a place.

And not everyone has insurance. Why in the world should my insurance company cover their hotel?

I wouldn't think to go after my insurance company for something that happened on another property.

Do you think I should buy flood insurance and earthquake insurance just in case I am vacationing in a region that has one as well?

[alphafemale]

12. No. It's ridiculous to assume someone else is responsible for your possessions.

If you rent a home the landlord would not responsible for your belongings in a similar situation.

I've known a person is responsible for insurance on possessions since the age of 19 or so when I rented my own place for the first time.

[Live and Learn]

13. If the hotel was responsible for the fire, e.g, not properly taking care of the property,

the hotel would surely be responsible and therefore would have insurance to cover that. I addition, if another hotel patron started the fire, the hotel could still be held responsible for allowing the patron and surely would have insurance to cover that.

When paying for a temporary dwelling for the night, one has every right to assume they and their possessions are safe for the night.

[alphafemale]

14. You have never read a hotel disclaimer, have you?

They are not responsible for belongings in your room.

Especially not in the case of a lightning strike.

[Live and Learn]

17. Correct, but I have never brought anything valuable to a hotel.

If I ever do, I will thank this discussion for being smart enough to stop and take my valuables with me before I jump.

Thank goodness, I never use that safe they offer that I could never get open during a fire. Or is that supposed to be my insurance?

What the heck, I have never sued anyone for anything (and not because nothing has ever happened to me) but if a fire engulfs my belongings at a hotel that I have paid for I most surely will (and I am betting my insurance company will help me).

[dixiegrrrrl]

16. Wonder if credit cards have that coverage.

I know I am covered for some trip interruptions.
And loss of luggage.
gotta read the fine fine print, I guess.

[HeiressofBickworth]

10. Into the WayBack machine

Some time in the 70's (don't remember exactly), a friend and I were staying at a hotel in Salt Lake City where we had gone to do genealogy research. About 1:00 in the morning, I smelled smoke. I looked out the window at the opposite wing of the hotel and saw smoke coming out of it. Still no alarms, however. I woke my friend up (she was 6 months pregnant) and told her to grab her research as we needed to get out of the hotel. Going down the stairs, we passed the firemen with their axes coming up the stairs. Turned out to be a kitchen chimney fire, no fire damage to the hotel, but the fire/smoke smell made it impossible to go back into it that night. We had to go down the street and check into another hotel. The next day we were allowed back in to retrieve our belongings. I asked for a refund on the room because it was rendered unusable. I got a run-around for a few months (phone calls and letters) and then never heard from them again. My insurance wouldn't cover the cost of an unusable room -- that was the hotel's responsibility. I sure didn't think much of the way the hotel did business.

[baldguy]

15. Corporate responsibility in action.

Hilton isn't responsible, because Hampton Inns is a subsidiary. Hampton Inns isn't responsible, because the hotel is actually owned & run by a franchisee, and Hilton doesn't require their franchisees to carry adequate insurance. The franchisee isn't responsible, because lightening is an unusual, unforeseen occurrence in NM. Apparently.

The really sad part is, the additional insurance premium the franchisee would need to pay to cover this type of incident would be literally pennies per day per room. The guests wouldn't even notice it, and they would be protected for the loss of their property.

[Live and Learn]

18. Oh yes, the Act of GOD excuse.

I actually had my car insurance company use this on me when a tree branch fell on my car. I wanted to ask if Atheists got a different coverage than mine,

[Stuart G]

19. Very interesting discussion....thanks

learned something here.